1:19 pm: It’s going to be one of these days. I took that picture an hour ago. It’s getting worse.

1:24: Give Rutgers credit. The stadium crew is trying hard. It’s just that Mother Nature is trying a hell of a lot harder.

1:34: Some WVU staffers just hit the field and were visibly shocked. The sidelines are a mess. Not a lot of room over there right now because snow has been pushed there. Also, Big East officials are here today. Wonder who they’re rooting for …

1:38: Earlier this morning I was trying to find somewhere to buy an umbrella and by the time I got to my car I’d abandoned that idea because of the snow. And don’t say I didn’t pack for the trip. Kevin Kinder did not care for my cap, either.

1:41: No Trey Johnson, Mike Dorsey, Coley White, Ryan Clarke or Cole Bowers today. Clarke got knocked out of the Syracuse game with what was called a stinger. It must still be stinging.

1:46: Bummer that on a day like this there will be no Coley White, but the Mountaineers do have Jewone Snow. Other guys to keep an eye on today: WVU’s big 12 is Geno Smith. Rutgers receiver Tim Wright wears No. 5, as in five Big East teams remaining. Rutgers has a pretty good running back named (Savon) Huggins.With everyone talking about distances in the Big 12, what better day to see a play from Donovan Miles? Terrell Chestnut is out for the season (shoulder), but today is a good day for an open fire back in Morgantown. And since there is a zero percent chance we’re getting out of the parking lot grass field, maybe we can get an assist after the game from Doug Rigg.

1:53: Speaking of Rigg, he got healthy just in time for his homecoming. Remember when WVU always had a few really good players from New Jersey? Dana Holgorsen said he’ll get back into the Garden State … and seemed at a loss for an explanation for why the Mountaineers weren’t there.

“We didn’t have anybody in there before,” Holgorsen said. “You run out of manpower at some point. You’ve only got nine guys to go out and recruit, so you run out of manpower. That’s one area that got left out over the past few years for whatever reason.”

Rigg encourages that direction. He said New Jersey players bring an intangible that suits the personality of WVU’s program.

“I’d say we have a chip on our shoulders,” he said. “Nobody really talks about Jersey football, but we can compete with anybody at any level of high school football. There are a lot of tough kids who hit you in the mouth. I think that’s the difference. We may not all have speed, we may not all have size, but we carry ourselves with a confident attitude.”

2:00: Pretty sure Stedman just posed for a picture on the field for Ivan McCartney.

2:01: We’ve got our first snow angel on the field. check out the 18-yard line. Also, a woman I just have to trust who works in the press box said this is just the third “snowfall” — define that how you will — in New Jersey in October since the end of the Civil War.

2:18: Check out WVU’s sideline triage.

2:43: WVU’s marching band is making its way into the stadium.

2:49: There are a variety of things Marlon LeBlanc can’t control, but WVU can either win a championship today or finish sixth. Right now, the Mountaineers are leading Notre Dame, 1-0, at halftime in South Bend. I dare say that could be one of the bigger wins of his career, given everything this season and this week have provided.

2:51: Louisville is killing Syracuse. Louisville > Syracuse, Syracuse > WVU, Louisville > Rutgers, WVU ? Rutgers?

2:52: Rutgers takes the field to “Victory,” which I used to blare in my station wagon before baseball games in 1998. I endorse this idea. Tremendous jam.

3:02: The Rutgers house DJ is in the … well, he’s in the house, of course. Matt Wells, WVU’s director of sports marketing, walked past me and said, “Think we can get the DJ to play Cotton-Eyed Joe?” I can’t stand that guy.

3:08: The number of short-sleeved WVU players far outnumbers the number of short-sleeved Rutgers players, but Rutgers quarterback, Gary Nova, is sans sleeves.

3:29: Fans are throwing snowballs at your Mountaineers as they take the field.

3:41: Andrew Buie and Vernard Roberts were on the kickoff return team.

3:43: Tough play, but Garrison could have caught that and if he did, he’s running a long way at a high speed.

3:44: The Casey Vance Era may be over. Doug Rigg is starting at weak side linebacker. Najee Goode is on the strong side and Jewone Snow is in the middle. Brodrick Jenkins started in place of Pat Miller.

3:49: Rutgers goes with the “Use A Lot Of Motion And Draw The Defense Offsides” play on fourth-and-1. I don’t get it, but the punt was downed at the WVU 4-yard line.

3:51: Expect long timeouts today. The plows are going to be on the field as much as possible during delays to clear off the sideline areas for the purpose of inbounds/out-of-bounds plays.

3:57: Men’s soccer wins, 2-0. Starting to come together, Pepper!

3:58: Potential for chaos right here.

3:58: Molinari got all of that ball and the wind just killed it. To clarify, I didn’t understand the choreographed draw-them-off play. I agreed with the delay and the punt. Punt is a big part of the game right now.

4:00: Rutgers has also runs some plays with shifts and motion that has left Sanu isolated 1-on-1, including that second down play against Miller.

4:05: These are important carries for WVU and for Garrison. He fumbled three times against Bowling Green and admitted it was the cold, wet ball and that he was used to dry and warm. He didn’t get a handle on that first pass, but has secured a few carries and just caught a screen pass for 15 yards. More and more this looks like a Shawne Alston kind of day, one suited for a big guy with big feet who guys don’t want to hit in the cold.

4:07: … and Alston runs 52 yards through the Rutgers defense for a touchdown.

4:10: Alston, by the way, had 52 or fewer yards in nine of his 11 career games before this.

4:16: I don’t Geno’s hands were sweating, but he did just drop that ball, a la Jarrett Brown.

4:20: I like Darwin Cook. He’s cool. He’s from Cleveland. He’d fun to talk to. He’d had a nice season. but he has to make that play. And how do you congratulate your teammate after that play?

4:22: I believe it was Keith Tandy who said this week you can’t go high on Sanu because he’s too big. HOlgorsen marched 20 yards off his sideline to greet Tandy after the extra point.

4:25: I believe it was me who said to Dave Hickman, seated to my right, that today was a day Sanu would maybe carry the ball some — he really hasn’t this season — because reverses could be so dangerous in this snow. Thank you, Tavon.

4:29: On the past two carries along (52- and 80-yard touchdown runs), the Mountaineers have more yards rushing as as many more more rushing touchdowns than they had in six of their seven games.

4:31: Tandy. Not sure what he was doing there, nor am I sure he knew what to do. Looked very uncertain, but it looked like he was tracking the flight of the ball. Also, blitzes have to get home.

4:33: You have to like this game, right? Football weather and lots of offense … and there goes Brad Starks on the kickoff return.

4:34: … nevermind. Holding on someone. Honestly didn’t see it. Anyone?

4:47: Forty-one plays and five touchdowns today.

4:52: Any time there’s pressure and it misses, Nova is going deep. And why not?

4:55: Irvin is trying frantically before his snaps to clear his footing.And I have to believe this timeout is to set up a punt. Right? When Rutgers had momentum, it had WVU deep because of that early punt.

4:58: Pat Miller didn’t start this game. Will he finish? He’s having a hard time not committing penalties.

5:04: The Casteel Curtain has allowed points on 10 of the last 17 drives (nine touchdowns, one field goal).

5:10: Again, every time Nova escapes pressure, he looks down the field. There, he saw nothing … but open space.

5:15: Fourth-and-1 at the WVU 17 and Rutgers will go for it. Winding up for a big punch after the timeout. If the Scarlet Knights convert and score, it’s 27/31-21 and Rutgers get the ball to score the second half.

5:19: Rrrrreally long first half here. Rrrrrealy worried about my car, too.

5:20: Looked like nobody in the defensive backfield saw that play … and this is a huge drive coming up for the offense.

5:28: Not sure what we just witnessed, but I know it was first-and-10 at the 16 with 40 seconds to go. WVU snapped the ball twice, wan twice and lost four yards and will now kick a field goal with one second left in the half.

5:30: Meltdown there, to put it politely. Don’t know why you don’t call a timeout with 13 seconds left and throw one into the end zone … and that forgives the unusual run outside by Buie on second down. And that, as I remember things, is the first bad hold since the Pitt game  in 2008. Correct me if I’m wrong.

5:56: Gary Nova dodges Pat Miller and WVU dodges a bullet. I thought for sure Sanu had that pass.

5:58: I don’t know if it came across on TV, but the ref’s mic was open in the press box when he met with the official who threw the flag. The official said, “I’ve got No. 20 throwing a punch.” Thought punches were ejections, but I guess not.

6:06: Another three-and-out and Ish Banks and Cecil Level were giving someone from Rutgers the business in the middle of the field on the punt return. I mean, just mauling the guy. The fans and the Rutgers side were incensed, but Level and Banks were celebrated upon their return to their sideline. WVU looks like it has a bounce in its step here.

6:10: You don’t call that hot potato play unless you have some swagger. No way WVU punts on fourth down here.

6:12: No matter. It took a pump-fake/bootleg, but after 36 minutes WVU has converted a third down.

6:14: Two third down conversions in a row!

6:15: More superlatives: Stedman’s first catch is magnificent. Tips a corner route to himself for a 19-yard touchdown pass. And here comes the offense. Do I circle the Level/Banks skirmish?

6:17: WVU established a good bit of rhythm at the end of the first half and the defense is getting off the field. It’s all tied together — offense makes plays, defense gets out, offense stays on plays.

6:23: Darwin Cook pressure, Nova runs right and not forward (big difference) and Jenkins gets the pick.

6:26: Promptly followed by a three-and-out.

6:28: Josh Taylor was already out and there goes Jorge Wright. Big snaps for Shaq Rowell because Rutgers is running it right at the middle.

6:47: The offense and defense can’t match up at the same time … and Gary Nova has been very good, save the interception, against pressure. Solid plan.

6:51: WVU needs a play from its defense here or its going need a play from its unreliable offense.

6:52: Stunning! Tandy can’t make a difficult play a ball thrown behind him and then Rutgers has an easy touchdown on a fake field goal, pass but the from defensive back Patrick Kivlehan to receiver Brandon Coleman is arched a little too much and Darwin Cook make the recovery and the play WVU absolutely had to have.

6:56: Man, Geno throws that pass to the runaway spot so well on the left side.

6:59: … and the right side, too.

7:01: I can’t believe they went for it and I can’t believe the option was good for a touchdown. Geno’s first career rushing touchdown … which, when you think about it, is fairly shocking.

7:02: … unbelieveable. Wide right on the extra point. Its’ 34-31.

7:05: … unbelievable. Not it’s first-and-10 at the 40 after the kickoff goes out of bounds.

7:13: I kind  of feel like WVU overcame itself and then Rutgers in this second half. The defense played really well after halftime — it just got a great assist from Nova — and the offense finally played along. Once the two got together, it was pretty easy from there. True, that’s been the problem all year, but that appears to be this team’s personality. After eight games, you apply the “You Are Who You Are” test and discover that.

7:28: Interminably long game, but I’m about to file and head to the press closet, er, room. Thanks for hanging around, everyone.